It was a Christmas miracle - coming just after Halloween and weeks before Thanksgiving.
Farmington Hills Harrison, which has won the most state high school football championships in Michigan history, nearly played its last ever game last week.
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Trailing 10-7 in the first overtime against Birmingham Detroit Country Day in a Division 4 state playoff game, Harrison lined up for a tying field goal attempt on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line.
But disaster struck when the hold on the snap was bobbled, which seemingly was the end for Harrison.
Improbably, it wasn't.
The holder, senior and Northwestern-commit Rod Heard, started running with the ball to the left side of the field, then spun around and retreated as multiple Country Day defenders were ready to tackle him.
As he spun around, Heard heaved the ball all the way across the field to teammate Max Martin, who caught the ball and ran untouched into the end zone to give Harrison an unlikely 13-10 win.
Players from both sides fell to the turf in disbelief, but for different reasons.
As a result, Harrison's program lived to play another day. The next challenge is a 1 p.m. Saturday home game against Chelsea in the regional final round. The winner advances to the state semifinals next week.
Harrison has won 13 state championships in its storied history, but the school is closing in June due to a cost-cutting measure by the Farmington Hills School District.
Harrison head coach John Herrington has coached the football team for all 49 years of the school's existence and is the winningest high school football coach in state history.